SO close, and yet so far away
by Zypher Evans
Summary: A child, beaten, abused, and tormented since the tender age of five. Can she find love, or will she die of torture before she will ever know this thing called love. BOF3 related.This story is not for children, contains suggestive themes and graphic langua
1. Default Chapter

Authors note: I've been gone for such a long time... So sue me. I do apologize for my being away for so long, I have been incredibly busy as of late and such, so I hope you all will understand.  
  
If any one wants a part to play in this story feel free to ask. This story can take many different twists depending on how you want your character to be like. So be creative!  
  
A dream   
  
Coming out of a tree's shadow, a dark figure arises, concealing her vampire fangs and her demonic aura, she hides behind the tree, not making a sound, or rustling the leaves, she looks on towards the people, and the tavern. Crouching, she jumps into a tree, a few fall where she makes her way up, she stands out on a limb, still crouched the moon and stars behind her, making her seem like just part of the tree  
  
A dark haired figure's eyes snap towards the sound of rustling leaves, she rises to her feet resting her hand on the hilt of her sword. Her fangs extend out above her bottom lip. Her crimson eyes lock on to the falling leaves and her senses tell her that there is someone in that tree.  
  
The figure near the tree gets a feeling of eyes resting on her. She dashes out, her demonic wings extended momentarily, she lands on the roof of a building that appeared to be a tavern, her wings vanishing, she resumes her run, and jumps of the roof, landing behind a tree, she herself has her hand on the handle of her sword.  
  
The dark haired woman's eyes narrow when she sees the figure finding its way from the tree to the abandoned building. she flared out her large black wings. they were feathered and scaled, the moon light shined off it the same way it did off the partly drawn blade. she approaches the building carefully and then flies strait up into the sky, looking down on the demonic figure below. she landed on the ceiling with ease, folding her wings behind herself.  
  
"who are you."  
  
Her eyes keep themselves locked on to the hidden figure, curious about the newcomer but still wary of any dangers that may proceed.  
  
The shadowy figure that had been hidden speaks.  
  
"I am Hinata, Vampire Queen of The Komishia Clan, and Demonic Captain of the 1st Vampyric Defense. You are?"  
  
the raven haired girl stands to her full height "I am Zypher Evans, ruler of dragons.. I am also partly demon and a few other things as well. one part of me I am not pleased with..." she spat angrily "my mother.... she was an angel." her eyes glowed in anger  
  
The dream fades   
  
A young girl awakens in her room, her eyes wide in terror. Her long raven hair fell to her waist as she climbed from her bed. Her white pajamas clung to her cold, and clammy skin. She closed her eyes, shaking from the dream. This had not been the first time she had this dream. She was haunted by it quite frequently. This past week she had this dream every time she closed her eyes. She was afraid of it. She felt like she had been there. She reopened her crimson eyes, and whispered quietly to her self as she headed to the bathroom, out of her dark room.  
  
"What's going on, I don't understand... every night this dream comes. What could it mean..."  
  
She clambered around until she found a light switch just inside the bathroom door. Slowly she flicked it on and closed her eyes, breathing deeply. She opened them after a moment and starred into the mirror only to see that figure from her dream starring back at her. No not the raven haired figure, but the other figure, as if it was standing behind herself. She whirled around to face the figure and yet there was nothing there.  
  
All was quiet with the exception of the humming from the lights ahead of her and the occasional chirp from a cricket. She looked around her bathroom, the white tiles glowing from the lights and she looked into the shower, sighing, she flicked the lights off and headed down the hall way to her room, finding the door closed. She thought back.  
  
I didn't close my door...  
  
Her heart began to pound in her chest once more as she neared the door, pushing it slowly open after turning the knob. She stopped and swallowed hard, her pale skin becoming even paler as she threw the door open. There was nothing there except for a black cat. The cat trotted past her, brushing against her ankles as it went. She sighed deeply, breathing heavily from the ordeal. The young girl raised a hand to her brow, wiping a torrent of sweat from her forehead. It was about the middle of July and it was forty-six degrees outside. She grumbled from the heat and headed back to bed, flopping down onto the bed. Closing her eyes, being extremely tired. It was one o'clock when she finally got back to sleep.  
  
The girl had not had that dreadful dream again. For that she was grateful, after all, seven o'clock comes early for a fourteen year old.  
  
An alarm clock sounded, it was seven o'clock in the morning. The young, bleary eyed teen rose from her bed. Her hair entangled in many knots. She yawned and jumped at the sound of foot steps storming through the house. Her parents were home. That was never a good thing. Her father was a drunk and her mother was cruel, almost as cruel as her father, if not more so. They were both black haired with green eyes. Where she got the crimson eyes from, they didn't know and they didn't care. Since she was different she was beaten. If she complained, she was beaten. If she lied, she was beaten. If she did nothing wrong, she was beaten because her parents felt like they needed to take their rage out on that girl. Everything was her fault they said.  
  
The footsteps came closer to her door. The girl cringed in fear as she hurried to get dressed. But she wasn't quick enough. Her father kicked her door down. The girl tried to hide under the bed from her father, but to no avail. He over turned her blood soaked bed to find the young girl cowering. She was going to be beaten again. The man laughed cruelly, his breath reeking of alcohol. He folded his large, muscular, tanned arms across his bare, and very hairy chest.  
  
"trying to hide now are we little girly?"  
  
He laughed again as she picked her up by the throat and growled.  
  
"I thought I told you that you had to wake up as soon as that damn clock went off and not one moment later!"  
  
He struck the fourteen year old and then threw her across the room.  
  
"Just wait until your mother hears about this!"  
  
with that he left the room to get the girls mother. The young girl shivered violently and coughed up blood. She placed a hand on her head and felt blood beneath her finger tips. She attempted to rise to her feet but then her mother entered the room. She sneered cruelly at the frightened child. Her mother looked like leering vulture, with that long hooked nose of hers. She glared at the child, and advanced. The girl cried out and attempted to flee, however she was trapped and was thrown to the floor by her mother. Her mother raised her hand above the child's head and brought it down. Her fist connected with the girls head and the girl tried her hardest to not cry out in pain.  
  
Hearing the cry of pain the mother raised and brought down her fist again and again, beating the child until she could not move. Once the mother was satisfied she threw the child out of the open window and the girl landed on the ground with a sickening thump kind of sound. The child was barely breathing and badly beaten. As she lay there, her eyes sight fading, she could hear her parents getting into their car to go to the bars again.  
  
The girl laid helplessly on the ground, praying silently on the ground, tears streaking the child's face. She hoped someone would see her, someone would find her and carry her away from this wretched place. 


	2. hope restored

As the day went by, the heat from the sun began to take its tool on the young girl. Once again, fresh tears dabbled upon her broken flesh. She squeezed her eyes shut and attempted to move from the tainted, yellow grass. At first there was pain, which she was used to. Eventually she was able to sit up, searing pain jolted through out her body and down to her right wrist. She lifted it and noticed it was broken. She let out a silent whimper, cradling her wrist against her chest. Slowly she rose to her feet, hobbling every now and then, her body threatening to fall back onto the ground. As she staggered forward, towards the side walk, her raven hair flowed into her eyes, obscuring her vision. She began to feel dizzy, in her eyes, her world appeared as rainbows and dots. The girl leaned against a nearby fence post, using her unbroken hand to keep her self up, whilst attempting to shake the dizziness away. It only took about five minutes before her sight was restored to its original state. She sighed, then held her chest sharply, she figured she had broken a rib or two.  
  
The girl slowly began to shift her weight as she started to stager forward. Her strength was slowly leaving her. She cried once more, going forward, keeping her balance as she pressed on. She managed to get to the corner of the street, glancing around. Some cars were coming her way and she thought bitterly to her self. She could end it all here. She gazed up into the sky then down at the ground. The side walk was cracked with grass jutting out of it. She knew how that sidewalk felt. To be beaten everyday, cracking slowly. She looked across the street, the light was green. She managed to cross just as the light turned red. She looked to her left and saw and endless row of houses, a common color amongst them was the beige color, with black singles of course. She slowly turned her head to the right, seeing more of those houses. Everything appeared the same, like clones. The only difference on the right was that there was a park in there. She closed her eyes, faintly remembering her first and only memory of happiness. Now there was only pain. She grieved silently and walked forward, passing house, after house, street after street. She passed an array of stores too. As she walked, she had a sinking feeling, she was nearing the bar. The once place she didn't want to be near other than the house she longed so desperately to leave behind.  
  
She closed her eyes once more then opened them yet again. She knew the only way to get by all this was to make it to the orphanage. To tell them the dreadful tales of her so called parents. She stopped just before the bar, hearing her parents voices. There were no hiding places. She felt trapped again. She quickly decided that the best thing to do was run, just run past them, run to the orphanage. She bolted, running right by them, they looked and then chased after her. The girl refused to look behind her, as in all scary movies, if you looked behind yourself, you were lost. She struggled to move those legs of hers. She could hear her parents slowly closing in on her as the swayed back and forth in zigzags. She swallowed hard, her eyes stinging from the constant flow of tears, slightly blinding her as she ran. Only a few more blocks she thought to her self. She took a left at the next intersection, trees, buildings, and cars whizzed by as she ran. Only one more block, but they were nearly upon her. Her father outstretched his arm, trying to reach the girl, but he missed and fell on his face, causing his wife to trip over him. The girl felt a surge of new strength. A triumph almost. She knew it was over as she flung upon the doors and raced into the lobby of the orphanage.  
  
An elderly man watched as the young girl tumbled down the stairs. As the girl lay there, the man walked over, bent down and collected the girl into his arms. That man was her grandfather. She looked at him and looked horrified. She knew he was going to turn her over to her parents again. She squirmed from his grasp and ran again, through a door and under a bed. It was one of the dorms for the other children that had once been in a similar situation as the girl. She clung to the bed until a woman with a soft voiced attempted to coax her from under it. She peeked out, seeing the owner of the orphanage. She smiled at the lady and closed her eyes. She fell asleep for the first time, a sleep untroubled by anything. She thought of her parents, in their coveralls and once white shirts. The smell of alcohol reeked from their bodies and clothes, almost as if they had bathed in the stuff.  
  
She jolted awake, wanting to forget them, she looked around. She was in a bed, soft, warm, with feathery pillows. The sheets were white, the smell of the air was fresh. The girl looked down at her rough hands, only to see they were healing. She humped out of bed, it seemed she had not been taken care of yet. She went to the owner and asked her if she could have a bath, the girl wanting to rid herself of the blood matted in her hair and build up on her body. The owner escorted the girl to the bathroom and then asked for her name. The girl looked up at the owner and said her name was Natalie. She asked the owner what her name was and the lady smiled, introducing her self as Sania. Sania was dressed in a nice, floral dress, with no straps. She was about six foot two, her hair was brown and her complexion was slightly tanned. Her eyes were a soft hazel. The little green eyed, raven haired girl smiled once more, hugging Sania before taking refuge in the bathroom to clean up.  
  
The moment she entered the bathroom, she turned the taps to the bath on, waiting until it was half way full with semi lukewarm water. She yelped when she placed her foot in the steaming water. She was not used to having baths or even being near water like this. Just from placing her foot in the water, blood that was once caked on, streamed off her. She pulled her very dirt foot from the water and decided that a shower would be better. Natalie let the water drain from the bath and then turned the shower on. She hugged her naked body, cringing from the harsh water as she stepped inside the water. Natalie shivered, turning the heat up so she would feel warmer. The harsh water caressed her sensitive skin, making her whimper until she got used to the feeling. She picked up a bar of soap and sat down in the bath, ignoring the pain in her broken wrist. Natalie then bathed her self, making her self clean for the first time in years. Natalie laid down in the tub, letting the water flow over her skin as she sighed, but this time not so deeply. She stayed in that tub until she almost fell asleep. She then washed her hair, the clean strands fell over her bare, pale skin. She climbed out of the shower, placing a towel around her waist and one around her neck, letting it drape over her front. She used a third towel to dry her hair. Sania knocked on the door just as Natalie finished drying off.  
  
Natalie blushed and peeked out side the door, when she saw Sania with some clothes for her, she smiled. Sania spoke in the same musical voice as she had before.  
  
"I hope these clothes are to your liking."  
  
With that said, Natalie took the clothes and nodded.  
  
"I'm sure that they will be, thank you."  
  
Natalie closed the door and removed the towels, sliding the silk clothing over her badly scared body. She hugged the cloth tightly, feeling nice, and clean. She almost wept tears of joy because she felt so good about her self now. She was wearing a blue shirt with gold embroidery along the bottom and a nice pair of tan shorts. She slid the jade sandals onto her feet and danced around. It was the first pair of shoes she had ever owned since she was a kid. She practically skipped out of the bathroom, a brush in hand. She tugged on Sania's dress and looked up at her.  
  
"Can you brush my hair? I can't its my wrist..."  
  
She looked down at her left wrist then looked back down at Sania. Sania bent down to inspect the wrist and gave a 'tsk'-ing sound.  
  
"My, my, little Natalie. Your wrist is broken. How did this happen?"  
  
Natalie starred at the ground and said that her parents had done this and all the other bodily harm to her.  
  
"Oh my poor little Natalie. I'm so very sorry..."  
  
Sania hugged Natalie and shed a tear for the broken child.  
  
"While you are with me, I'll make sure that no more harm comes to you."  
  
Natalie looked up at Sania and smiled.  
  
"Really?  
  
"Yea, really..."  
  
Sania hugged Natalie again. She then led the girl to a nice quiet room, all for herself. It had all sorts of colorful creatures painted on the wall. Natalie's favorite set of paintings was in the form of a mural that led to her room. It had a goddess of some sort and it had some sort of serpent like creatures on it. It also had a group of people on it being led by a blue haired warrior. She felt some how connected to that painting. She had seen it once before, in a dream when she was very, very young.  
  
As she lay in her new room, she yawned quietly. She curled up under the covers of her white bed, puling the blue covers over herself. She was exhausted, after all that time of waking up to screaming and yelling, there was now a sense of peace in the air. She could hear laughter echoing in the halls. Natalie eventually drifted to sleep. As she slept she could see the mural, she knew there was some kind of connection between her and that mural, for it burned its image in her minds eye. Natalie no longer had to worry about being beaten. 


	3. Friend or foe?

Natalie awoke late that night to a soft murmuring by the window. She gazed out the window after opening a blurry eye to the world. She couldn't see any thing but she could hear the voices, still murmuring against the wind. Natalie turned away from the window until she could hear a voice from the window giggle. She snorted silently and got up. She stood near the window so she could hear what the noise was all about.  
  
"Hey Cadis"  
  
One voice spoke out, a small squeaky one at that. Then the voice spoke again.  
  
"Do you think that little girl knows... well you know, about us?"  
  
The one Natalie assumed was this Cadis then spoke out.  
  
"not likely, she too young. She doesn't even know anything about herself. She has no idea that her parents aren't her real parents any way."  
  
Cadis, was about to speak again until she noticed the girl was awake. She squeaked and both her and the other person or thing vanished into the air. Not that it mattered. Natalie still could not see the figures. She yawned and then trudged back to bed, flopping face first into it, very ungracefully. Her hair splayed over the soft pillow. Natalie propped herself up onto her elbows and slid under the covers, falling back to sleep once she laid back down again.  
  
In the morning, Natalie was awakened by the sun in her eyes, her window was still open. She yawned, her mouth opened wide. She shut her mouth and looked at the time, her heart stopped, after a moment she remembered where she was. It was eight forty-five in the morning, normally she was forced awake at seven o'clock. She shook softly, chuckling at the thought that she forgot where she was. She was safe now, no one could harm her, or so she thought. She rolled over on to her back, kicked her covers off and sat up. She turned and slid her feet over the bed, leaning forward until they touched the ground. She slid out of bed, stood up and stretched, her fist high in the air, whimpering slightly from the pain jolting through her side. She decided not to do that again until she was healed properly.  
  
She skipped over to the closet and swung the doors open. Her jaw dropped slightly from the assortment of gorgeous clothing that was in the closet. There were nice little dresses, shorts, t-shirts, pants, even a nice two piece bathing suit with a short like bottom. It had the little sliver rings laced through the belt loops. Most of the clothing was blue, black or a nice pale blue. Some were even white. She quickly grabbed a nice pair of blue jeans with the faded fronts and a nice white T-shirt. The girl didn't have much of a front yet so she didn't need to wear any bras just yet. She threw off her night gown and tossed on the shirt and jeans, having to fix the pants once for putting them on back wards. She checked to make sure she didn't put the shirt on back wards or inside out, she had a habit of doing that.  
  
She skipped over to her dresser and gazed into the mirror, raising her broken left wrist to her face and gently touching her black eye. She winced from the pain, a tear threatening to make itself know. She gripped a tissue in her right hand and dabbed her eyes, ridding them of the tears. She tossed the tissue into the trash bin that was on her right, between the bed and the dresser. She then looked at the mirror one last time before closing the window and heading out of the room, down past the mural and took a right into the kitchen. She sniffed the air, smelling all sorts of delights, however there was no food to be found. She left the kitchen out the way she came in and went through the room across the kitchen, it was the food hall. Every one was there practically. And it seemed the food was being served. She sat next to a tan, black haired, blue eyed girl. That girl was starring at the table.  
  
Natalie looked at the girl and spoke softly to her.  
  
"are you all right?"  
  
The tan girl looked over at Natalie, sensing that the crimson eyed girl was in just as much pain as she was. She gave a slight smile, most of her teeth were missing and she had a large gash on the left side of her neck.  
  
"I guess I am all right... I've been worse. All though, I can't see and I can't eat much."  
  
Natalie looked horrified for a moment then she closed her eyes, trying to shake the dreadful and all to eerie, empty eyes of the blind girl. She shudder then opened her eyes, trying not to look into the girls eyes. The hairs on the back of Natalie's neck were standing on end.  
  
"Um... what's your name?"  
  
asked the blind girl, gazing blankly in Natalie's direction. Natalie spoke up quietly.  
  
"My name is Natalie, what's yours?"  
  
she quipped. The blind girl nodded slightly, but not too much.  
  
"My name is Shawna."  
  
The blind girl turned her attention back to the table, running her raisin like fingers across it, making a slight scraping sounds from her broken and chipped nails. She sighed, and shook her head to the left slightly. Natalie turned her attention away from the lingering gaze of the blind girl. Natalie eventually located Sania near the door she had entered through. Sania was looking strait at Natalie with a bright smile on her face. Sania went to the middle of the room, she was wearing another one of her flowery dresses. It was a nice pale green with blue and red flowers on it. Once Sania had made it to the middle of the room she turned her attention to the door way. At least ten men and five women walked out into the room, dressed in that fancy restaurant waiter and waitress clothing. Three chefs followed behind them with two carts of food each. The waiters and waitress delivered plates of French toast to each child, with the exception of those that can't have eggs.  
  
Natalie looked at the pile of French toast that was placed in front of her and her stomach growled loudly, almost so loud that those sitting a few seats away from her could hear it. The blind girl giggled lightly, making Natalie blush brightly. One the syrup was put in front of Natalie along with some containers with butter, Natalie wildly grabbed the syrup and the butter, sloping the butter onto each toast and poured the syrup on to the toast. She put both items down and grabbed her fork and knife and the dug into her food ravenously. Natalie made such noise, but it was okay seeing as she had been starved her whole life. She pigged out, polishing off her entire plate, and wept with happiness.  
  
Once the tables had been cleared Natalie rushed off to the bathroom to clean herself off, her fingers were sticky with syrup and so were her lips and cheeks. She turned the water on to around hot but it was still not hot enough to hurt her frail hands. She lathered some of that lavender soap she had found into her hands and then rubbed it all over her face. She cleansed it off with some water then turned the taps off. Natalie nabbed a towel and dried her face and hands off, hung the towel back up and headed strait for the door. She went to turn the knob until she heard the same giggling from last night.  
  
Natalie turned around, her eyes darted around the room vigorously, trying to find that inaudible sound of giggling. She scowled, narrowed her eyes and searched the entire bathroom, and still she could not see who it was that was giggling. This infuriated Natalie, but she let it pass. She figured she was hearing things because of how she had been treated in the past. Natalie gave one last look around before making the mistake of opening the door with her broken hand. She yelped loudly and then used her right hand to open the door.  
  
As Natalie headed to her room she heard a faint sobbing from somewhere behind the mural. She pressed her body and her ear against the wall, trying to hear until the wall gave way and she landed on the other side of the wall, she landed right on her wrist, making her cry out in pain. She bit her bottom lip until the pain passed. She stood up and sniffled, keeping her sobs at bay. Natalie gazed around and looked behind her, noticing that the wall had closed behind her, at first she felt a sense of dread but then waved it off, she knew she would find a way out, some how. Natalie's eyes wandered to the walls of this mysterious corridor, seeing torches lining the way. There were all sorts of pathways branching off to the left and to the right, but she didn't dare stray from the light. She shivered once she started to head down a stair way, the temperature seemed to drop. The stairs seem to lead into the never ending darkness, causing a wave of fear to sweep across her. Once again she shook it off. She wanted so much to be brave, no matter how scary things got.  
  
It seemed like forever but she eventually reached a landing at the bottom of the stairs. She smiled weakly in triumph for making it that far down. She looked around, only the bottom of the stair well was lit, after that it was cold, empty darkness. She swallowed hard then plunged herself forward into the endless darkness. She shivered once then got used to it. She didn't feel scared any more, but determined. Determined to find out what was in there. She came across a fancy looking wall. As she neared it, it shone brightly, she backed off for a moment and the brilliant light faded. She approached the door until it glowed brightly. Natalie reached out and touched the door, the door faded and the entire corridor was washed in light. She shielded her eyes with her left hand, once again, that was a mistake because a creature dashed out of the door way and nearly plowed her over, racing off past her, causing her to fall back wards. Low and behold, yet again she landed on her broken wrist. A loud snapping sound echoed through the hall way as another surge of pain swept through her. She could feel a trickle of blood flowing down her wrist and onto the floor.  
  
Her lips quivered until she passed out from the pain. It had become far too much to handle. The creature that had caused her top fall leaned over her and picked up her body. Its body glowed darkly, its robe shimmered in the quiet light. The creature laid her body onto a bed of flowers, and as it stood aside, Natalie's blood began to trickle on to the flowers. The creature had no idea what to do, it was even surprised that Natalie was even alive, sensing the pain she had been through. The creature stood on its haunches, crossing its arms across its chest. It was a male, you could tell by its clearly defined muscles that it was a male. It brushed its robe off slightly, tapped its large horns and fluttered its gargoyle like wings.  
  
Its crimson eyes peered over the girl one last time before turning its back to a statue of some sort. It kneeled down when it turned to face the girl again, and put his hands together. It seemed to be praying silently. Natalie's wrist made a snapping sound once more as it went back into place and healed properly. Natalie began to stir once her injuries had been healed. She sat up, starred at the flowers then glanced around, realizing she was in that room she had discovered. Natalie took one look behind herself and gasped before falling unconscious from shock. 


	4. More danger for Natalie!

As Natalie lay there unconscious, the creature cracked his neck twice, once on the left side then once on the right side. The creature picked the child up and began to raise to his feet until something whizzed into the room and whacked him on the head, causing him to put the girl down. The invisible creature then made its self visible. It was a two and a half foot pixie like creature. It wore no clothing. It wailed its fists in the air and screeched.  
  
"What are you doing!!!! Leave her alone, she's not ready to change!"  
  
The horned creature looked up at the pixie and frowned slightly.  
  
"Cadis, she is ready, she needs to accept her abilities at an early age or she won't be able to accept them at all. She has already had the dreams, she already has seen the mural of the brood war. What more is there for her to see before she can change?"  
  
The horned creature rose to his feet, crossed his arms and huffed. The Pixie sneered.  
  
"Well, Garland. I for one, am a fairy and I know what she needs to see! I am what she needs to see!! Until then you have to back off!"  
  
Garland retorted snidely.  
  
"Then how do you explain that she opened the sealed door! She opened it without your help or any one else's for that matter. She is ready!"  
  
The fairy glowered angrily and then disappeared into the air.  
  
"She awakes, do what you will guardian..."  
  
The guardian looked down at the girl and saw that she was indeed awakening. He felt a surge of guilt swim through his veins, knowing that she would have to have many tasks, most alone, on top of what she has already been through. He folded his wings and shook his head once. He was about to turn his back until Natalie looked at the guardian. She had gotten over the shock and wondered what he was.  
  
"What are you?"  
  
The guardian knelt down once again and smiled weakly.  
  
"I am guardian Garr, also know as garland asono. I am a guardian as it were. A race of creatures given divine power long ago by a once revered goddess. Now our power begins to wane just like the magic's of the world. Everything is beginning to undo itself."  
  
Natalie looked at him curiously and smiled slightly, she went to prop herself up on her left hand and noticed that the pain had vanished from it. She stared down at her left wrist and saw no blood, and no bone protruding from her flesh.  
  
"how..?"  
  
Garland smiled. He took her small wrist into his large hands and rubbed it gently.  
  
"I healed it, it needed to be healed, there was too much damage to it."  
  
Natalie looked at Garland in a surprised way and then she hugged him out of the blue.  
  
"THANK YOU!"  
  
A small tear of gratitude slipped from her right eye, this had been the first time someone had taken liberty unto themselves to help her heal. Tightly she hugged him then she quickly let go of him, allowing him to reprieve from the sudden hug from the girl. He looked at her questionably for a moment then he smiled. Taking the girl up into his arms. He began to carry her out and up the stairs, back to where the sunlight resides. The girl lay in his arms comfortably while they climbed, but she had a sudden pang, a feeling of dread once again. It was the same corridor she had gone through to get there and yet something had changed. She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but as she gazed at the stone walls, she could hear the faintest of whispering within these walls. She frowned and then attempted to ignore it, but the more she tried to ignore it the louder those voices became. She bit her bottom lip in annoyance, the voices still getting louder, and louder. Once Garland had reached the wall she had entered through the voices ceased. This made Natalie feel even more confused and frightened than before. She felt like she was going to be attacked.  
  
Garr pushed open the door and set Natalie down, he gave a small reassuring nod to her and then changed into a young man, appearing to be in his twenties. He had long fiery locks of hair, about waist length, it was tied back in such a fashion as an old scholar would. He was muscular, about six foot seven and wore nothing on his feet, they were bare. He wore a shirt with long sleeves, but it was rather loose and made of a thin black material. He wore matching pants, both with a flame like design riding up to about the knee. He had a spear safely secured on his back with a black case. He cracked his neck again and placed a hand behind Natalie's back, pushing the child forward. The fourteen year old advanced through the door was and she gave him one last look before racing off to find her new friend, Shawna.  
  
Garland watched the girl skip off, he then shut the wall behind himself, advanced forward and headed down the hall way to explore. There was so much about this strange, new, world that he didn't know about. However he had to learn fast. If he didn't, well a lot of bad things were going to happen quickly, and he would be lost in a tide of confusion. He clenched his fists as he tried to focus on his purpose. His understanding of why he still existed was vague at best. As he passed down the hall, he chanced a glance to his left and saw a large mural, the same one he had seen oh so long ago in Dragoniar. He mussed silently to himself, then thoughts of his companions drifted into his mind. He became flustered and headed down the other way, finding himself outside. He raised a hand to shield his eyes from the rays of the sun, alarmed at the sound of people yelling at one another and cars zooming by at excessive speeds. These sounds made his blood run cold, for he had never heard such sounds before in his life. He turned to head back inside and found himself facing Natalie and Shawna.  
  
He blinked then tilted his head to the side, he then pondered. What if he could lean about this wondrous world from Natalie and this other young female. What if he could educate himself. He was sure there were books and things he could bother himself with. Natalie smiled softly, she somehow knew that this world was very new to the guardian, it was nothing like he had ever experienced. As Garr looked up into the sky, still shielding his eyes, he saw all sorts of birds fly by and high up in the sky there was a plane. He turned his attention back to the streets to see someone being chased by a police officer. He stood there, speechless and amazed. Natalie clapped her harsh hands together with a gleeful smile.  
  
"I know that you don't know much about the current world. There is so much that you need to learn. The politics have changed, there are few to no kingdoms and most people in this world are free now. Why, even machines do a lot of the work where it would take many a mortal to build. It's truly amazing! No one uses horse drawn carriages any more, everything is powered by machines."  
  
Garr looked at her, baffled he was.  
  
"Machines?!? When I knew this world, machines were scarce. People didn't travel around at these speeds, some people even had wings, and now everyone has turned to machines to carry out their leisurely lifestyle? Nonsense, I can scarcely imagine that people are no longer ruled by kings and queens. That's just crazy talk."  
  
Natalie handed him a couple of books on politics, sports, laws, cars, everything he needed to learn, lied in wait within the covers of those books. She could tell by the disbelieving look on his face that this was going to take a while to soak in. A smug look crossed Natalie's face for the first time in her life.  
  
"Welcome to the New World."  
  
With that she and Shawna headed back inside, giggling, and chatting gleefully about this poor man. Shawna, knew that by the reprise in Garlands voice that, Garr still had much to see, despite being around for so long. In fact, Shawna had a deep, dark secret. She knew Garland well, far better than Garr would know. She had a role to play later on, and it involved the shaping of Garr's newfound life. Natalie chauffeured Shawna into the coloring room, well it was dubbed the coloring room, but there was more to do in there than just color. You could paint, play with yo-yo's, sing, dance, and play catch. It was like a kids dream in that room. And for a child that had very little in her youth, one that had a disaster for a childhood. This place very much resembled heaven.  
  
Garr watched the two youths sit down and roll a small blue ball around to each other, in which they were soon joined by three boys, one that had his eye on Natalie. He had grown to like this new girl. They didn't know each other, but their fate seemed intertwined. Garr scoffed at the attention the young fourteen year old was giving to Natalie, but then he shrugged. Natalie had been through so much, it was about time she started to live a normal live and get back the things she held dear to her heart once. Like friends. Natalie seemed to be enjoying the attention she was getting so Garr slumped off in a slight huff. He made a quiet gesture to himself, thinking that if he did manage to learn about this world, maybe he could protect his founder. The one that saved him from that wretched hole he had been stuck in for what was supposed to be an eternity. Then again, nothing is eternal if it stops, now is it.  
  
Garr found a nice quiet place to sit, in the library of course. He took in a deep breath then pushed his flaming bangs back behind one of his ears. Softly he scratched his right ear as he scanned the pages, absorbing what little he could make out of this new English. He was very much used to hearing and speaking the old tongue. Garr got by fairly well though. He was a little surprised that he could even understand Natalie, she was so quiet when she spoke, and her sentences sometimes were fragmented. He moved his right hand down on to the table, flipping the page of the age worn book, wrinkling his nose softly from the slight musty smell and dusty pages. He wanted to sit crossed legged by the librarian wouldn't let him and the bench he was seated upon simply wouldn't have it. It was just too small. Every now and then Garland would glance over his shoulder, and he would find the wrinkly old lady glaring at him over the tip of her glasses. She was a strict little bugger. She wanted to make sure that her precious books didn't get destroyed by miscreants.  
  
Garr sighed inwardly, unsure of what to do, feeling uncomfortable from the eyes that were boring into the back of his neck. He drummed his left hand on the table, flipping yet another page as he tried once again to immerse himself into the book, but it was simply to dry and boring for him to do that. His eyes scanned the page number, he was all ready at page four hundred and thirty seven. He snorted, snapping the book shut loudly, now annoyed at the little old lady. He went up to the counter and gave her the books back, he then stalked out of the room to go and find something else to do with his time. He passed Sania and she whipped around to stare at him, finding him attractive to say the least. She stared at him until she turned around and smacked into a poll, causing Garland to turn his head and stare at her briefly. Sania rubbed her nose then took off down the hall. Garr was used to women doing crazy things when he was around. They seemed to become far more clumsier when he was in his human form.  
  
He rolled his eyes and turned down the hall, heading out side. He shuffled his feet quietly as she approached a tree, sitting under it, closing his eyes and trying to enjoy the breeze outside. It was rather quiet now. Not like it had been earlier. He was glad to now taste the fruits of tranquility. He breathed in deeply, enjoying the subtle, and clean air around himself. His thoughts began to drift back to the old days, hearing the children laugh in the background, it reminded him greatly of Ryu and Nina. He chuckled softly to himself, he decided to move from the past, seeing as his present and future was a complete and radical difference from his past. He watched as Shawna came outside with out Natalie. She ran up to Garr, and Garland opened his eyes, looking at Shawna. He could feel that something was wrong within the deepest regions of his heart. Something had happened to Natalie.  
  
"Where's Natalie?"  
  
Shawna gasped for air, her sentences were broken between her pants.  
  
"Nat alie, she. she was grabbed by . by her parents, they are dragging her away. We tried, every. everything to stop them. But. but they simply threw us around like rag dolls!"  
  
Garr stood off and raced back inside the building, leading a disgruntled Shawna by herself. Garr whipped into the room where Natalie had been. Sania looked up at Garr after tending a child's injuries. She quickly pointed out the window, her words raced.  
  
"Theywentthataway!"  
  
Garr looked through the window and narrowed his eyes, he didn't panic as he saw Natalie being dragged off, kicked and beaten once more. He growled softly to himself, they were getting farther away. He jumped out the two story building, landing on his feet. He went to race across the road but he had to jump back to avoid being hit by a car. Garr then took off after the two parents. He panted quietly as he slowly began to close in on them. He closed his eyes for a moment then reopened them, almost upon the couple. Garland jumped fast and high, vaulting over the two and landing in front of them his back turned to them. He reached behind his back, pulling the spear from its case. He turned his head to the left, his eyes aflame with anger. With the slightest jerk of his waist and wrists Garr spun around and his blade quickly closed in on them. 


	5. Only to ask why

As the guardians spear came inches close to the culprits neck, a dark, mysterious light erupted throughout the entire area. Garr pulled back and found himself surrounded by complete darkness, He could hear Natalie's cries of pain, and yet he couldn't do any thing. Once the darkness had slowly slipped away Garr looked around, the streets were empty. Garr had a sinking feeling, something bad was going to happen to Natalie. Garland had no idea where to go, he knew not where Natalie had lived with her vicious step parents. He raced down the street, searching desperately. He had made a silent vow to himself that day. He was going to protect Natalie from this day forward. No matter what the cost to him. Garr continues to run, he began to feel his unbridled emotions rise from the depths of his heart. He rather ungracefully trips over a crack in the side walk, smacking his face against the side walk. He got up, raising a finger to his newly split lip. He looked around, sucking on the lip. He spit the blood out as he began to walk. He stopped dead when not even the crickets were chirping or the seagulls squawking. Something was terribly wrong. He raised a hand to his heart, closed his eyes, he took in a deep breath. His thoughts were soon interrupted by a painful cry for help. It came to him rather muffled, as if the person had been gagged. Garr quickly located where the horrid sound was coming from. His eyes widened with fear, his heart racing. He knew where Natalie was, He had to get there quickly. He took a left down the street and then ran, ran down that same street Natalie had raced down to escape. Garr could hear his heart in his ears ringing loudly.

Thump, thump.

Thump, thump.

He located the rather distressed home, he could feel Natalie's tears as if they were his own, slipping down his face. He bit down on his bottom lip, half afraid of what he may find. He tried to jiggle the door knob loose, but to no avail. It was locked and jammed shut. Garr closed his eyes, reopened them, and clenched his fists then thrusted them towards the door. The door splintered off its hinges, he stepped over the debris. Garr looked around, smelling blood, and smelling something else, something that made his heart stick in his throat. No it wasn't the smell of death... Garr glanced around and stepped forward He found the stairs, went up them and found a door at the end of the hall way. The door was in far worse condition than the front door. He swallowed hard. He began to quietly walk down that hall way, he squeezed his eyes shut. Garland pushed open the door and saw Natalie's step mother holding Natalie's wrists down on the bed. Natalie's ankles were handcuffed to the bed and Natalie's step father was on top of Natalie's naked and beaten body. Tears streamed down Natalie's face. Her step father was doing the unthinkable. He had his pants down and he was raping the poor girl. Garr became horrified by what he saw. He couldn't believe it. He quickly became out raged and yelled out.

"STOP!!!"

The foster parents looked over at the guardian, seeing the anger on his face mixed with a slight tinge of green. Garr was gripping his spear so hard, his knuckles were white and his nails were cutting into his own flesh. The foster mother let go of young Natalie's wrists and Natalie immediately began to push her foster father off of he. He complied and moved off, zipping his pants up, a sick grin spread across his face. He joined his wife by her side, the sickening grin still there. Garr narrowed his eyes which were flaming with anger. The two foster parents quickly changed into one creature, a demon of sorts. It vanished, not wanting to fight, not yet. They had other plans for him. Garr stood there for a moment, his emotions mixed. He pushed them aside and went over to teenagers side. She was crying heavily and rather weak from the attack. She had defensive wounds all over her body. Garr picked up Natalie, his emotions still very mixed. Garr held her close and then took her to the bath room. He helped her get cleaned up, Natalie was shaking. She had thought that she would be safe. Garr helped Natalie get clothed once all of the slime, sweat and seaman were off of her body. The bastard didn't use a condom, that just made Garr feel sicker to his stomach than he already was.

Natalie sniffled, she so much wanted to be safe, and now she had no where to turn. No where was safe. No matter where she went they would find her. Garr wrapped Natalie in a warm blanket. He then picked her up and carried her down the stair, out the door and went to look for a hospital. The poor girl needed one badly. Her spirit was broken. Garr ignored the stares from people as he walked through the streets. He knew it was awkward for someone to be carrying an unconscious teen through the streets. He wrinkled his nose, walked through the hospital door and laid Natalie on the counter. The secretary looked up at the massive muscular, red head and she almost fell out of her seat. She gasped silently and then hit a call button for a doctor, she had seen the tarnished female. Garr picked Natalie's limp body and placed her gently on a stretcher bed. Natalie was wheeled off instantly. A doctor who stood only a mere four feet and three inches, stared up at Garr, somehow feeling even shorter than he was. He asked Garr what happened and Garr peered down at the pint sized doctor. He knelt down.

"That girl here, Natalie is her name. You best take good care of her. She was attacked and Raped by her foster father, her foster mother did nothing to stop the situation and in fact encouraged it. Natalie has also been through a though life with those two. They beat her each day, each night, and when she woke up, they were waiting for her. Even if she did nothing wrong the would wreak havoc unto her."

The doctor blinked, afraid for his life and the life of Natalie. He shook his head in disbelief but quickly scampered off as fast as his little pudgy legs could carry him. Garr rose to his feet, brushed some lint off his shoulders and sat down in a chair to wait. Some people that had been outside and seen him carry the girl into the hospital entered, they were a wealthy group of people, wearing their fancy dresses and expensive jewelry. A young female that appeared in her early thirties approached Garr and asked about the tales of that poor teenager. Garr looked up at the girl, saw that she had a Young man, and appear in his mid thirties and a young lad behind her. The young lad appears to be a teenage, tall and lanky like his father it seemed. All three had black hair and were about six feet, well with the exception of their son who was currently only five foot three. Each had blue eyes, the fathers eyes were a dark cobalt blue, the mother was almost a sapphire blue and the son had sea blue eyes. All of them had fair, milky skin. Garr spoke quietly.

"She had been beaten and raped by her foster parents.."

The young lad went a little green.

"I hope she will be all right"

The young lad looked down at the ground after speaking those words. He had been enchanted by the young teen, he wanted nothing bad to happen to her. He had known her for a long time and had no idea that something at this scale was going on in the poor girls life. He, much like Garr wanted to protect Natalie. Garr looked at the lad.

"What's your name?"

"My name is Raziel. What is your name kind sir?"

"The name is Garr."

Garr stood up after introducing himself, gave a nod to Raziel and then simply walked away. He felt better knowing that he wasn't the only one that wanted to protect Natalie, even if it was for different reasons.

Garr slowly walked outside, the doors making a resounding slipping noise. Garr stretched his neck and arms while he stood just outside the doors. He then looked up into the sky, feeling the temperature drop. He knew it was going to rain. Garr stepped out of the protection of the building out into the front yard of the hospital. It began to rain as he looked upon the sky once again. He was simply standing there, letting the rain caress his face. For the first time in many, many years, tears began to sting at his eyes. He lifted a rough hand to his eyes and wiped them away. He knew not the reason as to why he was so emotionally attached to this young girl. It had only been little more than a day, he knew nothing about her and yet, he felt like he has always known her. Perhaps it was because of the events that had taken place recently that had so much to do with his feelings. Perhaps it was simply that he was meant to protect Natalie no matter what happened. Whatever the case may be, Garr made a silent vow to himself and to the gods that until the day Natalie passed from the world of the living, he would protect her under all costs. Garr folded his arms after his hand had returned to his side. His robes swayed quietly in the wind, the crimson and gold reflects off what little light there was.

Raziel left the inside to take a breather outside. He had seen Garland wipe away his tears. Raziel bowed his head and walked to an area near the guardian. He was about to speak but the guardian turned his head. Garr's crimson locks flowed from behind him and hid most of his face due to the winds. Garr welcomed Raziel into his presence and Raziel was more than happy to obligee. Raziel stood beside Garr and gave the weakest of smiles.

"You did what you could, no matter how painful things get. Thank you for helping Natalie. She was once a friend of mine, everything was going so well for her and now... I don't know what to say."

Garr's eyes closed, absorbing the information, understanding little and more questions swam about in his mind than answers. Garr gritted his teeth in utter frustration. He was furious at everyone and everything. Raziel understood what Garr was going through and decided it was time for Garr to know all about young Natalie and her past. He tapped Garr's shoulder lightly to get his attention. Garr opened his eyes and looked into Raziel's blue eyes.

"What is it" Garr spoke.

Raziel smiled weakly "Its time that I tell you all about Natalie if your going to protect her."

Garr nodded in silence and whispered quietly. "Its best to speak of these matters indoors. Your words would get lost out in this storm."

Raziel turned and headed for the safety of the inside rather quickly. Garr on the other hand walked slowly, he had so much on his mind that he actually bumped into a door. He rubbed his forehead, bit his lip and opened the door. He had a slight coppery taste in his mouth because he had bitten his lip. He ringed his hair out because it was soaked and he looked around for Raziel. He had managed to vanish on him. Garr muttered silent curses and began the search for Raziel. It wasn't long before Garr did manage to locate him. Due to the search however the floors were soaked with water. One of the young rookies slipped and crashed into a wall, dropping the silver plate with the Advil cups on them. Unfortunately the cups were full, thus pills were everywhere. A rather old looking lady eyed the pills and dove towards the floor, she was a drug addict and she was desperate for her latest fix. Garr caught the lady by the neck and handed her to the police officers that stood nearby in utter amazement at his speed and skill. After Garr had brushed his hands of the woman he looked over at Raziel who gave a sheepish look. He knew full well that he had been the cause of the accident. It mattered not to Garr. Things happened, sometimes they were good, and sometimes they were bad. Raziel took Garr by a sleeve of his robe and guided him to a dark room with candles burning bright. Garr eyes didn't take long to adjust , Raziel's eyes took a little longer. Raziel sat down in a rather posh looking bean bag chair, his suede boots clicked on the floor. His black leather jeans shined in the light, he also wore a tight leather vest. It showed off his muscles and his form. He smiled and watched Garr take a spot on a wall nearby. Garr's eyes shone brightly in the darkness.

"So... Tell me... What's the deal with Natalie?


	6. Emptiness

"Well you see Natalie was abandoned at a young age by her original parents. Her current keepers came to her after a year and a half of her being orphaned. For the first year they took good care other and then something happened to her that was so horrible that they began to misuse their guardianship. They began to beat her; they only started to sexually abuse the poor creature last week. As horrible and explicit as it sounds, it is very true and very real."

Garr hid his oncoming tears for Natalie and he looked up, his fiery bangs concealing his sorrowful eyes from Raziel. His fist shook with anger, rage, and a deep pain, almost remorseful to the point where Garr would do anything to keep Natalie safe from this point on.

"How could they do such a thing to such a delicate creature? Natalie deserves better than the treatment she is getting. The day I get my hands on those foul scum is the day when lighting splits from the sky recognizing the day of their judgment."

Raziel raised one careful eyebrow; his voice came to be soft once more.

"My dear friend, the only one who has the liberty of judging them is Natalie herself. I understand how you feel and I will do everything in my power to help you stop them from harming the poor girl again."

Garr was only capable of bowing his head, his eyes closed. He felt ashamed for not being able to help Natalie to the fullest of his capabilities. After all Natalie did awaken him and now he could understand as to why he had been awakened in the first place. He had a duty to those that could not defend them selves; People like Natalie. The pain that Garr felt was so immense that he felt as if he could burst. Garr needed to control his anger before he unleashed a mass of explosive power into the hospital. That was the last thing that Natalie needed, her guardian blowing the hospital up along with her. Without notice Raziel's mother walked in the door to witness a scene not like any other. Garr was holding his thick fists so tightly that they were a ghastly shade of white. On normal occasions Garr's skin could resemble the color of amber. Raziel's mother knew that Raziel himself was a guardian; after all she had a few secrets of her own. She couldn't hide her tears after hearing all of the terrible tales that her son had to tell. She sniffed quietly, however it was quiet enough. Garr's head snapped up, his body turned to a thirty-degree angle as his head pointed in her direction. His eyes met hers at the same time Raziel stood on his very tiptoes, gazing over Garr's shoulder. After Raziel saw his mother standing there he sighed while walking over to her side. His leather pants made a small squeaking sound when he stopped; Garr raised a brow when the noise broke the not so tangible silence. Garr left the room quickly afterwards, his robes swaying with a quiet gentleness.

Raziel's mothers' sad purple eyes met her sons pale green eyes. She raised a delicate hand to his tanned face, her eyes saddened more so when Raziel closed his eyes while furrowing his brow at the same time.

"Raziel, why does your heart ache so much for this young child? Why must you put your life on hold for a little girl you don't know?"

A single tear slid from his eyes as he slowly began weeping. His body shook in silence, for he had nothing to say. Perhaps this was fate but then as that thought passed through Raziel's head he opened his eyes. At that very moment he felt a surge of strong will and the need for justice. His eyes fared and he brushed his mothers hand away from his cheek. He marched off past Garr to Natalie' room. After entering the elevator on the first floor Raziel made up his mind that from this day from the end of his life he would watch over and protect Natalie no matter what.

DING

He had arrived on the third floor. He exited the elevator then headed down the hall past doctors, nurses, and men with crutches and women with children. He felt nothing, heard nothing and thought nothing as his blood began pounding through his veins. He reached her door at the end of the left wing. He pushed the door open with such force that the doctor that had been behind it flew off his feet, landing in the garbage can. Raziel didn't give the doctor a second look. Raziel reached Natalie's side in a matter of time, despite the doctor's request for him to leave the room. Natalie opened one bloody eye. At first she thought she had seen Garr but it turned out that that wasn't what was going on. Instead there was a man there who she had never seen before. She tried to speak so she would understand a little better but no noise came out instead Raziel put a hand on her shoulder and smiled. He knew what had happened. He was afraid for her life. This was the first time he had ever felt anything for anyone in the world. He smiled; it was a sad smile at best. He spoke slowly so she would be able to under stand even if she couldn't hear considering he didn't know what was wrong with her with the exception of all she had been through.

"I am here to protect you, no one will stop me from helping you, not even the doctors. I know what you have been through. Although I my not be as young as you, nor the same gender, I too know what it is like to be abused physically, mentally, and yes... Sexually. I used to have keepers like you. In fact there could be a chance that they are the same people. They have the same aura and from what I have seen you have been treated the exact same way I was. I got lucky in the end, being taken in by my real parents. Since then I have never been the same. I want to help you. Please let me help you."

Natalie nodded, but shaking from the sudden move of her head. It caused her so much pain when she moved. Tears ran down her face. Raziel pushed her head back onto the pillow and she stopped shaking. No longer was she in pain. She reopened her eyes to gaze at Raziel's hand. She had never felt such warmth from anyone, not even Garr. She rested her eyes, in comfort for once in a very long time. The Merciuans had lost a daughter when she was a baby. She had been stolen from them at the age of eight months. After three years of grieving and being unsuccessful in the search for their daughter they adopted Raziel. This was many years back. Raziel couldn't remember how long it had been since he began living with the Merciuans. Raziel had a feeling that Natalie's real name was Alanya. Her parents gave this name to her. Natalie wouldn't remember since she had been so young when she was separated from her biological parents. Raziel watched as she slept soundly and he whispered into her ear.

"Good night… Alanya."

Natalie continued to sleep unaware of all around her. Garr walked up beside Raziel. Raziel didn't even know he was there because he had been so quiet. Garr watched and a sense of peace kind of settle over his big heart. Garr turned his attention to Raziel, unknowing of what Raziel had said no less than a minute ago. Garr tapped Raziel on his left shoulder and Raziel jumped. He whirled around to meet Garr. Raziel put a hand over his quick pacing heart. He gave Garr half smile, chuckling so softly so Natalie would remain asleep.

"She is finally asleep Garr. She can finally rest peacefully without the fear of someone hurting her, even if it is for one day, a week, or what have you. I am glad that I have finally found the Merciuan's daughter. "

Garr was taken aback at this sudden announcement. While he took his step back he almost stepped on the doctor that had finally gotten out of the garbage can.

"Natalie's real parents… Do they happen to be your adoptive parents?"

"It would seem to appear in that way Garr."

Garr nodded his head but said nothing, some how Garr felt empty despite the joyous news. Garr's role would seemingly end. Garr just wanted someone he could take care of. He was reaching the part in life where his instincts of a father figure were beginning to show. Garr watched Natalie for a second more then took his leave. Garr knew that Natalie would be safe; after all she was now in the hands of a younger and more dedicated guardian. Garr felt only emptiness from the moment he left that hospital. Now what would he do? Where will he go?


	7. Explosive territory

The rain failed to cease, getting harder with every drop. It peeled off onto Garr's sad face. He didn't even try to block the rain. He looked over his shoulder, his mop of sopping hair sticking to his back. In the rain it appeared to be a rusted color. Garr's eyes lined up with Natalie's window once. He saw Raziel watching him for a brief second before heading back to Natalie's side. Garr looked back down at the ground, tears mixing with the rain. He reached up with one cold shaking had and tossed his bangs from his eyes. His heart ached, his stomach empty, and his mind filled with constant sorrow. His blue eyes kept getting more and more sorrowful. He closed his eyes and pointed his face towards the sky as if asking why. Had he been forsaken? He sighed when his memories clouded with age swamped him. Was there nothing he could remember? Was there anything in the world worth something to him He had lost his purpose and possibly his will to live. He opened his eyes and saw nothing, no horizon, and no sky, it all melded into one bid fog. He trudged on in hopes of finding something. The ground went form soft, muddy ground to hard, almost ash vault like. Garr looked to his right and saw only emptiness, his eyes wandered to the left. He saw something. It was a light splitting though the fog in a fashion of god, leading the blind. Garr blinked, a horn sounded and Garr barley made it out of the way. It was just a truck. Garr growled at the hulking mass.

He ran up, with such speed he easily caught up to the truck. Garr narrowed his eyes and grabbed a hold of the trucks underside. With his strength he flipped the truck on its side. Garr Jumped up into the air and came crashing down on to the trucks cargo. He scanned the area he had crushed with his weight; the smell of something unfamiliar came wafting up from the trucks inside. It was not the smell of gasoline or diesel. It was the smell of drugs. The overwhelming smell gave him a headache but he shook it off then headed to the front of the truck, his feet digging deep into the metal. Garr approached the front driver door with extreme caution. He ripped the door off and looked inside. There was no one there, no one at all. Garr looked up only to be met by a fist to the face. He toppled back onto the cargo hold of the truck, crushing whatever was inside. Garr put his left hand against his face, feeling the now swollen cheek; he glanced up seeing someone lunging towards him, claws outstretched. Garr jumped out of the way, barely avoiding the stranger's crushing blow. Garr kicked the man in the side quickly, and then he landed on the pavement. The man winced when being hit but jumped off of the truck and landed in front of the long-lived guardian. Garr put up his fists and the stranger unsheathed a dagger. It had been a while since Garr last used his fists. He knew that this was a dangerous battle in which he or his opponent could get killed. Garr had to win, despite loosing all hope and faith in everything he had once stood for. Even though Garr had no purpose, he wasn't going to give up so soon.

Garr backed up as the man made his advance through the sifting fog. For a brief moment Garr could see his opponent. Garr took his stance just as the stranger lunged forward with his blade. Garr reached out grasping the man's wrist. Garr swung up with his right fist making contact with the strangers elbow. Garr heard the arm break on contact. Garr then threw the man to the side. The now broken man howled in pain. His offence was down thirty percent. The stranger used his other arm to rise from the pavement. He lunged at Garr arms outstretched. Garr was caught off guard and he went down like a tone of bricks. Garr pushed the man off of him but the man was faster than he though and Garr received a hefty kick in the side. A grunt escaped Garr's slightly chapped lips; a trickle of blood could be felt sliding down his side from where he was kicked. His side twitched in pain but Garr was now filled with anger and bloodlust. The smell of blood put Garr into over mode. Garr used his hands behind his head and propelled his body back on to his feet. Garr's eyes were red with anger; swiftly he brought out his spear as he thrust his hand downwards. The spear appeared in a burst of flames as a show of his anger. Garr's heart began to pound; this was a feeling he had not felt since before his awakening. Blood pounded through his heart and his whole being. Garr stanced himself in his typical spear above his head and his left hand out in front of him. In a blur of fire mixed with rain Garr spun his pear round and round until the whole area was lit up. It stopped raining and the ever-growing fire absorbed the fog. Garr's eyes flashed, his spear speeding up, no longer did Garr need to use his hands. The stranger now able to see Garr clearly gasped in surprise. The first thing he did was step back. He knew that no matter where he went the fire would follow.

The strangers black hair covered his eyes and pale features. Under the mop of black hair his eyes went green. He began doing back flips to get away. Garr saw this and slung fire spear after fire spear after the man. Garr growled angrily when he avoided his first spear. A wave of fire followed the strangers' trail. One hit the stranger and sent him flying forward and in a mass explosion more fire spears followed suit, exploding when they made contact. In the beginning it appeared that Garr had won however that wasn't the case. The stranger was laying on the ground, covered in flaming clothes and blood. Garr was about to cease firing his flame spears until the stranger rose up from the ground, eyes white in anger. Now this would be a battle to the death. Two men locked in a battle until one died. It was apparent that neither would be dieing any time soon. The man clutched his chest in pain as this body glowed white then switched to black. Cosmic energies escaped the man's body. In a flash of dazzling lights and power he vaulted forward. This was a bad thing for Garr. It had been way to long since he had fought anyone with this power. In fact the last person he had fought with this elevation of power had been Myria and of course Ryu. Garr knew he was in trouble the moment his eyes met his opponents. With one fist clutched the glowing man sung forward with that very fist. Garr used his hand to stop the approaching fist. Garr attempted to drive his spear into the man's chest. That only made his opponent madder than before. An explosion could be heard as far out to the hospital and farther.

Natalie awakened screaming from her bed. Garr although far from her could hear her cry. It was apparent now that Garr still had something to do before he gave up entirely. Raziel tried his best to stop the girl from escaping the hospital but failed and was forced to chase after Natalie. Garr chanced a glance into the fields and saw a desperate Raziel trying his best to stop a fleeing Natalie. This didn't work out to well for Raziel. For taking that one chance glance towards Natalie's direction, Garr was rewarded with a fist to the face. Garr cursed under his breath and slashed at his opponent. Blood splattered along the ground and into the air. Garr ignored the splatter on his face and on his spear. It didn't take long for Garr to loose his weapon into the Grass. He couldn't retrieve it so it was now a full out fistfight. When the stranger had been blasted he had lost his dagger so that explains why Garr was getting kicked, punched, and now bitten on the shoulder which in turn got the attacker a head butt and a punch to the jugular. The black haired man was now relentless, fists flying and Garr did his best to keep up with the speedy aggressor. Natalie saw Garr get hit in the face by his opponent and cried on his behalf. Raziel seeing how much it hurt Natalie to see Garr get hurt felt that it was in his, Natalie's, and Garr best interest to help Garr to the best of his abilities. Now it was a battle of two on one, even then they had trouble subduing the man. Natalie flopped down onto the ground, worn out. Her legs were splayed out to the side and one hand supported her weight. She brushed away her tears, put a hand behind her back and felt Garr's spear in the grass. Natalie looked up and saw that the black haired man had released a blast powerful enough to make the guardians fall to the ground. With them helpless the stranger walked over to them as if to kill them but Natalie wouldn't have it. Her eyes flashed dangerously as she staggered to her feet. She wasn't going to end this no matter what. She didn't care about her pain anymore. Natalie wasn't about to loose the only people to care for her. She trudged forward, closing her eyes in pain but reopening them, her will making her shine through. She suddenly found the ability to run, and run she did, forward, faster, stronger until she reached her mark, she yelled out and the dark haired man whirled on his heels to be met by a fatal blow to the heart by Garr's spear in the hands of a little girl, who wasn't a very little girl any more. Her eyes glowed white, as did the pair of wings that flared out gracefully from her back. It was over. Garr and Raziel starred at end point of the spear that jutted out of the man's body. They watched as he disintegrated into nothingness.

Garr didn't say anything when he saw Natalie standing there, hair in her eyes and wings out to full extension. Raziel was simply at a loss for words. There was no turning back now, not after what he had just seen. Garr climbed to his feet and offered Raziel a hand up, he took it without argument. Garr let go of Raziel and he almost toppled over because of it. Raziel was strong enough to keep his balance however. Raziel smirked and hugged Natalie, which made her eyes, return to their crimson color, however she kept the wings. Garr took his spear back, making it vanish the same way it had appeared. After doing this he folded his arms and tilted his head to the side with curiosity.

"I knew you could do it Natalie. I had faith in your abilities from the moment you awakened me into this world."

Natalie and Raziel both looked at Garr, both grinning. Their grins faded quickly when the toxic smell of gasoline and fire met their noses. Even Garr who had no idea about the capabilities of this knew that they were in immediate danger. Garr grabbed both Natalie and Raziel, flew up into the air via his wings and flew as far and as fast as he could to get them out of there. Even with his great speed in the air, the cocaine truck blew and the fire followed them to a great distance. It was a good thing that Garr could absorb the fire. Other wise they would be toast. Natalie squealed in delight and slight fear as they avoided bits of truck and fire. The truck had unfortunately exploded near a gas station and it didn't take very long for that place to heat up and explode.


	8. Off to another world

Once Garr reached the hospital with Natalie and Raziel he set Natalie down on the roof first, Raziel second. Garr gazed at the wings, a smile of peace wandered across his face and he turned his attention to Raziel afterwards.

"Well that's the end of that, however you and I know very well that it is only the beginning of a long road, especially for the young one; Natalie."

Raziel nodded his head knowing full well what Garr meant. If a normal person saw Natalie's wings, Natalie would surely be in grave danger. For you see humans fear the things that they least understand, that includes saviors from upon high. Natalie was an angel all right, the wings were proof enough for Garr, and unfortunately Raziel didn't think so. Then again Raziel has never been locked in an epic battle against a Goddess, fighting for what he believed in and against something that was once his religion. Raziel didn't know what it was like to have a dragon for a friend, Garr knew all to well. He knew many things that Raziel still needed to learn. Garr figured that he would learn soon enough, he also hoped that he was a quick learner, for there was so much to squeeze into that brain of Raziel's. Raziel looked up at Garr and noticed that Garr was smiling. He looked surprised at this seeing as Guardians almost never smile. Garr sighed seeing Raziel's look of shock.

"Raziel it is imperative that you learn to show a vast range of emotions. If you don't bad things are sure to come your way. I have lived since before the dawn of machines. You remember the tales of the Goddess Battle do you not?"

"Of course I remember that. Heck every Guardian knows about the Goddess Battle. We also know that a dragon with the help of a group of highly skilled warriors defeated her. In the party they had an Engineer, a Thief, a Princess, the Yggdrassil Tree, and one unknown fighter. Rumor has it he had the ability to wield the power of flame. No one knows too much about him since he vanished after the battle. I do also know this. All of the warriors from that time are still alive seeing as they were granted immortality upon defeating the Goddess."

Garr was definitely surprised by this comment seeing as it had several of thousands of years since he had gone in the 'Stone Sleep'.

"Really, I should look into there whereabouts"

"No need Garr I can take you, I know where they all live. They are claiming that they used to know a guardian. That wouldn't be you would it?"

"I feel that I need not to answer that question. You don't need to know who I was friends with before my long sleep."

Raziel looked at Garr sourly, biting down on his bottom lip. He fixed his jacket and picked Natalie up from the ground where she had spent the last five minutes sleeping. He held the sleeping angel close to his chest and shook his head so that his hair fell into his eyes. He sighed, breathing deeply.

"Why must this poor child face such enduring trials? What ever did she do in her past life to deserve such treatment? Is there truly no God?"

"Oh there is a God alright, she is simply hiding from the world that had been created during her down fall. She has lost her power over mankind. I am not sure if the decisions made back then were for the best, perhaps it was a mistake? Then again the best things in life turn out to have started out as mistakes, they would then blossom into something much more."

Natalie open her hurting eyes, looking up at Garr and tugged at a loose piece of his wet, entangled hair. Feeling the sudden weight shift in his hair he glanced down and chuckled at the sight. Natalie was gazing up at him with those big crimson eyes of hers. She really did look like an angel, the wings simply finished off the package. He softly tapped her small nose with one of his claws, which caused Natalie to giggle quietly. Raziel frowned after she stopped giggling and shook his head.

"Garr I need to know why you want to see them, I just can't take a complete stranger to the other side."

"Other side? Oh right, I remember, via the transportation devices right?"

"How did you know about them Garr? How much do you really know about the past? You seem to know more about the age of technology better than anyone alive."

"There is so much that I know. You shouldn't be surprised at this. Remember I am thousands of years old."

"Garr, I need to know everything, I don't care how much trouble I will get into for knowing about the past, I need to know about it so I can have a better understanding about the future."

"How on earth can you get into trouble for knowing about the past? Did someone ban the information? I can scarcely believe that someone would do that, then again from what I have seen in the past it is really would be no surprise if it was."

"Yea, the past is banned. The elders, politicians, and government don't want anyone to know about what happened. The guardians and I have been planning to go against them for a while now. If only we knew what secrets that they were hiding from us… We need to know Garr, none of the others from the past will say anything."

"No one? Not Ryu, Nina, MoMo, or even Rei?"

"Good God man, how on this plane of heavens do you know the names of the ancients?"

"Ancients? Humph… How fitting, especially for Ryu. I promise to tell you most of what I know after I see Rye and the others. There are important matters that I need to discuss with them. Urgent matters."

"Very well Garr, I will take you so, if you choose not to honor your promise I will find out from Ryu. That is my promise to you Garr."

Garr only nodded quietly. It was now or never time. There was so much to finish off and there was also so much he would have to answer for. One of those questions would most likely be why he went into the 'stone sleep' in the first place. His only answer back then was "It is my duty to die with the Goddess". Garr knew that everyone had been so worried about him. It was only a matter of time before his reawakening was inevitable. The one thing Garr couldn't understand is why he wasn't destroyed when the entire floating fortress was destroyed. There was so much debris and rubble, it was difficult to comprehend, Garr chose not to think to hard about it though. Garr stretched, cracking his neck, the sands of the desert picked up with out warning causing him to put his right hand in front of his eyes. He remembered that feeling, the heat, the sand, and the monsters. Garr finally looked around and saw that the town he was in had been built over the pre-existing town, he could recognize everything. He even recognized the weapons/item/ Armour store; of course it wasn't in business any more. There was still something that bothered Garr greatly, the fact that he could still feel Myria's presence in the town. Perhaps Myria really hadn't been defeated only stalled. Raziel looked at Garr, Natalie had fallen to sleep again, and she needed to sleep after everything she had been through.

"Garr what is it? You appear to be disturbed by something? Is it the past again?"

"No Raziel, not the past, well I suppose that has a part to play in this however, haven't you ever felt that there were greater powers at play? Ever felt like someone thought that someone else was playing out your life and you are simply a pawn for someone else's pleasure, like a marionette on strings?"

"Only on the days that I haven't been doing anything strenuous. Why do you ask all of a sudden?"

"I can feel a power surge from beneath the town… I suppose that right now it doesn't matter, we can't let it go unchecked though. I will investigate this matter further once we have returned from the other side. Let us go now, in search of the truth. We could leave Natalie with Ryu, after all she would be safer with someone that could protect her."

"Are you saying I am incapable of protecting her?"

"I never said that Raziel. Now lets go!"

Raziel glowered at Garr darkly then with a wave of his free hand he opened a door that lead to the teleportation device. The room was very dark and Garr could hear the familiar humming sound. Raziel looked over the controls and grumbled, he needed both hands to operate the machine seeing as he was so slow when using only one hand. Garr pushed Raziel out of the way softly and activated the machine on his own then stepped onto the pad, vanishing.


End file.
